When Your New Job is to Find Your Next Job
Some practical suggestions for opening new doors of opportunities in difficult times.By Marjanne PearsonMarch 19, 2009

Until recently, employment
was a seller’s market, and any architect or designer with a decent portfolio
could get a good job. But as Billy Clark (director of Jack Kelly &
Partners) said in a recent Architectural Recordarticle
on strategies for unemployed architects, “It’s the market, not you.” In today’s
job market, some firms are hiring, but it can take ingenuity and diligence to
find them.

Unfortunately, it is not likely
that someone else will find the job for you, so you must face the fact that
your new job is to find your next job. If you can open new doors of
opportunities, then you should be able to step right through.

Here are some suggestions:

1. Market Research: Before you can position yourself with targeted
employers, conduct research to learn more about them. Who is in the best
position to help you? Obviously, there’s the Internet with all of its
resources, including InsideArch.org, Archinect.com, and social networking
options like Twitter. (Refer to Mary Sullivan’s article, “Twitter
Tips: How to Use Twitter to Job Hunt”). And then there’s your local AIA
directory (or website) with its list of firms.

But some of the best sources
of information are your own “C-Suite” – colleagues or classmates, city
agencies, consultants, contractors, and clients – people who do business with
architects and designers. If you have worked directly with any of them – and
especially if you have good relationships with them – now is the time to draw
on them as resources. Ask them about some of the firms that you have
researched, and with the exception of the city agencies, don’t be surprised if
they offer to make introductions to firms on your behalf.

Tip #1: If a client recommends you to a firm with whom they
are working, you will get an interview.

2. Mapping: When working on client strategies, we recommend
that our client firms do an exercise called “mapping,” in which they take a big
piece of brown paper (or some other large writing surface) and begin to list
the clients with whom they have worked most successfully. Then they begin to
cluster those clients according to a variety of characteristics (location,
decision-making process, sources of funding, etc.) rather than building type or
other traditional category. In the next step, they begin to list other
companies (or categories of companies) who have those characteristics and then
begin to connect the dots between their clients and the newly listed companies.

Often you’ll find a new
correlation: In one instance, our client discovered that their best work was
done in urban public spaces, but the clients were private foundations who
funded the projects. So, their next step was to identify how they could get to
other private foundations – looking at things like where those foundation
directors met with their professional colleagues; e.g., conferences and professional
associations.

Tip #2: Use a brainstorming technique to identify new
possibilities for employment. In addition to opening new avenues, it’s also a
great way to give friends and family members an opportunity to help you; they
may not be able to provide introductions, but they should be able to help you
look at your community in new ways.

3. Market Positioning: In marketing, a company has a limited number of
opportunities to shape perception in its targeted audiences. This applies to
the job market, too.

If you have identified a
list of potential employers, and if you have been lucky enough to have someone
offer to make an introduction, you want to craft the message that is sent to
the potential employer. You not only need to develop an excellent resume that
clearly describes your background and experience, but also to create a cover
letter that articulates your “value proposition” to the targeted employer.

As Mary Sullivan, co-founder
and principal of KickStart Alliance, has said,
“A value proposition is a simple statement indicating the target audience, the
basket of benefits you offer, and the price for those benefits.” In this case,
your “price” is employment, which is understood. But you do need to make your
case to the potential employer, making it clear that you understand what they
do and how you can enhance their ability to achieve success.

Tip #3: In 75 words or less, create a message that
articulates why a targeted employer would benefit from hiring you. Share this
with everyone you have involved in your job search, and most particularly, with
those who are willing to make introductions on your behalf.

4. Professional
Credentials: In the past, licenses
and accreditations were not obligatory, and lots of architectural employees
were just too busy getting the work done. You can’t afford to be the only one
who is lagging behind. If you are not yet licensed but are eligible, now is the
time to follow through and get your license. Similarly, if you are not yet
LEED-accredited, take the exam. Not only will you enhance your own profile, but
you will also be able to point to your ability to get things done during your
period of “self-employment.”

Tip #4: Take advantage of every arrow in your quiver. Make
a list of the credentials that could be important to a potential employer and
find time to accomplish as many as possible.

5. New Market
Opportunities: Architects and designers
see their experience in the context of building types, but design firms are
experiencing seismic change, and they must reinvent their own go-to-market
strategies.

What are the markets that
will be successful in the coming years? The Society for Marketing Professional
Services recently addressed this in “What’s Next: A Guide to the Future of the
A/E/C Industry” (download available here). Market sectors that are
likely to hold steady or grow include transportation, energy, sustainability,
healthcare, education, and research.

If you don’t have experience
in these specific markets, you may be able to look at your projects in new
ways, using different terminology. For instance, renovation projects might be
called “adaptive re-use,” and you could point out experience with
energy-efficiency or other building cost savings. Experience with design of
aquariums, convention centers, or hotels and resorts might translate to
transportation facilities, which are essentially public places where people
gather.

Tip #5: Deconstruct your experience and reinvent yourself.
It’s time to take your resume (and portfolio) and look at it in new and better
ways.

6. Presentation: In today’s market, there is virtually no excuse for
lack of a website for your own portfolio. You need a good résumé, but you also
need to make it easy for potential employers to see your work and how you
present it.

Update your portfolio and
organize it to support the value proposition that you are presenting to the
potential employer. If you are a seasoned professional who has been doing
project management, your client will be interested in sample proposals,
contracts, budgets, and schedules, as well as photos of projects that have been
built or are under construction. And if you are new to the profession and don’t
have a substantial portfolio, use your creativity to show your potential –
include school projects but also add work that you did as a volunteer in
community service projects.

Then you need to generate
some buzz. If you don't know how to create a website, ask your friends and
family members for help, or check into no-cost or low-cost learning
alternatives, such as online tutorials or community education programs. If
you'd prefer to create a PowerPoint or Keynote presentation, look at options
like SlideShare.net. Once your portfolio is available on the Internet, you can
publicize it via e-mail and social networking (LinkedIn, UPworld, Plaxo,
Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, other resources listed below).

Tip #6: Create opportunities to demonstrate and reinforce
the unique and distinctive value that you can bring to a potential employer.

7. Rainmaking: There is no question that if you can bring in work,
you will be more likely to find opportunities – either with potential employers
or in potential alliances or partnerships. As you network with your “C-Suite,”
take note of potential relationships that could lead to future projects.

Tip #7: Don’t promise more than you can deliver. But it
never hurts to point out possibilities.

Finally, remember that
architecture and design are the only professions that see opportunities and
then deliver value in physical form, translating ideas into three-dimensional
reality. While design is sometimes seen as a luxury, we can’t live without it.

Marjanne Pearsonis a management consultant with two distinct practices in the design
industry: Talentstar, focused on recruiting
and other talent strategies, and Next Moon,
focused on market and practice strategies to achieve success and
sustainability. She began her career more than 25 years ago working for seminal
design firms in San Francisco. She established her own consulting practice in
1987 with Frank O. Gehry as her first client. Today, her clients include
signature architects, emergent practices, regional powerhouses, and corporate
giants with offices around the world.

Suggested
resources:

●
American Institute of Architects “Navigating
the Economy” (frequently updated) site offers business tactics for leaner times.
Many AIA chapters have also launched initiatives to support their local
professional communities.

●
DesignIntelligence publishes information on the AEC industry. Its blog is available on the web, but you may be
able to access their books, white papers, and bimonthly publications in your
local library or professional association.

●
Seth Godin (the bestselling author, entrepreneur, and agent of change) recently
posted a blog on “slack”
time – how you can invest in yourself “to build a marketing asset that you’ll
own forever.”